My Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
Let me wish you and all your loved ones a very Happy & Blessed Christmas! You are very welcome here today to celebrate the Birthday of Our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. If you are a visitor to our Parish for the first time I hope you have enjoyed this wonderful celebration. If you have been away from the practice of your faith for a period of time ‘Welcome Home for Christmas!’ It is truly wonderful to have you here with us; you are part of this Christian Family!
In an age when Christianity and Religion appear to have been relegated to the ‘insignificant pending tray’, I would like to take this opportunity of inviting those who have been away from the practice of the Roman Catholic Faith, for whatever reason, to seriously think about ‘Coming Home!’ We live in an age of apathy, indifference, secularism, materialism, and a culture that often promotes individualism, but still many people are unsatisfied; often looking for a real meaning in their lives.
‘COMING HOME’ – LANDINGS: – is a programme to help those who have been away from the Church for a long time to slowly and gradually reintegrate back into the regular practice of faith. In the New Year of 2019 the Parish will initiate the opportunity for those who have been away to come to very informal meetings run by Catechists and Fr John to help each person recognise their own rightful place in the life of faith and the Church. Each one of us has so much to offer, and we should never underestimate what Almighty God can do in, and through us!
Landings is a place of compassionate listening. The group listens respectfully and without judgement to one-another’s faith story and reflections on the theme, viewing each as something uniquely personal and sacred. Participants are invited to be honest and open about struggles with their faith. Participants are asked to share only what they feel comfortable sharing. Listeners are bound by confidentiality to promote sharing. Landings doesn’t attempt to ‘fix’ problems. Those with particular issues are invited to consult with specialised professionals – counsellors, priests, religious – who can help with specific needs.
I’m sure we all have vivid memories of coming to Church with our parents when we were young; being prepared for First Holy Communion, & Confirmation. For the most part, these are good memories! The gathering together for the Eucharist on a Sunday Morning is still the main event in the life of the Roman Catholic. Participating in the mass is central to being Catholic. For some people, they may have got out of the practice of faith; others may have had a bad experience in life which turned them away from the Church, others may have lost a loved one and feel angry with God; whatever the reason we are not here to judge! We are here to love, encourage, support, help and listen. Sometimes people just want to be heard!
If you, or anyone you know, a family member, friend or colleague, has been away from the regular practice of their faith for a long time, please tell them about this programme. Hopefully this little message is just one way that God might be ‘Calling you Home!’ What more beautiful occasion than Christmas to feel the real beauty of God’s love for us in sending us his Son, Jesus Christ. In the innocence of the Christ-child God entered our world and he desperately wants each one of us to be part of his!
Even if you feel nervous or afraid to come back to Church, just ask the Holy Spirit for the strength & courage to make this bold move, you won’t regret it! For some, you may wish to speak to a Catechist or Fr John in advance of returning; this is also important. There may be issues that you wish to speak privately about. A compassionate and open door will be waiting for you.
2019 is a New Year. This may be your Special Year, for all sorts of reasons! Please consider all that has been shared in this little bulletin. This may be a New Beginning for you, and your family!
With Love & Peace to You All this Christmastide!
Today we celebrate the feminine genius of Mary and Elizabeth. These two giants of faith reveal in their encounter with the Holy Spirit so much of what it means to live a life of faith. These two women were joined in a sisterhood of faith; they were both on an adventure on which they were overshadowed and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Today’s Gospel contains the heart of John the Baptist’s preaching. His message of repentance in preparation for the coming of the Lord resonated with the crowds who flocked to see him. Just as it stirred the hearers to long for the coming Messiah, so it moves us to worship. Jesus said of John, ‘among those born of women there has risen no one greater’. The effect of John’s holiness on the crowds can be seen in the response even in hardened soldiers and cunning tax-collectors. We might think that John had cause to be humbly satisfied at the success of his mission – what more could be asked for than genuine repentance and newfound faith?
Water has a purifying role in the Old Testament. The law imposed many ritual washings before worship, and the Pharisees baptised Gentile converts to symbolise the cleansing of their hearts and their joining to the people of Israel. John baptised people in the Jordan to symbolise their repentance, but he knew that something more than a symbol was needed to rescue humankind – they needed to be immersed in the Spirit of God.
The Gospel of mercy invites us into a new time of grace. During Advent God’s word challenges us to repent and be renewed: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight…The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth’. As we respond with sincerity, we shall ‘put on the robe of righteousness from God’. 
Jesus is King and today we celebrate the feast-day of Christ the King.
God’s plan form the very beginning was that the Son would reign over us as our Lord and our King. Tradition informs us that Lucifer and his realm were the first to reject God’s plan and refused to bow down before Jesus. We, seduced and led astray by this very same Lucifer (more commonly called Satan or the devil), also rejected and rebelled against our good Creator. God’s plan was thwarted, but, since nothing can prevent God’s will unfolding, the very One who was to be King came instead as our Saviour. Scripture testifies that a time will come when all will bow before Christ the King and declare, ‘Long live Christ the King!’
The imagery of darkness, falling celestial bodies and the heavens shaking is disturbing to the modern mind – as it doubtless was in Jesus’ time, even if the language was more familiar then. Such events, we are told, will precede the glorious appearance of the Son of Man, who will come with his angelic cohort to the earth. When this will happen no one knows (except the Father) – but happen it will! There is a tendency to relegate this vital truth of our faith to the back of our minds. We may think of such language and sentiments as archaic, and find it hard to see it as an essential teaching of our faith. Our scientific world-view makes us uncomfortable with the talk of the end of the world or the consummation of human history.
We need to be wary of those who purport fantastic theories and predictions about the end of the world and return to Christ. However, we need to balance our caution with a desire to renew our faith in the blessed hope of the Church, the return of Jesus. The renewal of this hope sharpens our desire to live by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we pray in our hearts, ‘Come Lord Jesus’, a desire for the Second Coming is awoken within us. This living hope can strengthen and fortify us as we seek to live the power of the Spirit.
Bartimaeus is in such need. Unperturbed and undaunted by those who try to silence him, he shouts even louder. He is full of determination. Despite his blindness, he recognises clearly who Jesus is: ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ His boldness, courage and persistence are rewarded and he is called forward.
Selfish ambition, self-advancement and self-promotion are often hallmarks of clerical ambition. Pope Francis, for example has put a stop to the plethora of young clerics being awarded the title Monsignor. Under his pontificate a cleric cannot be made a Monsignor until he is the age of 65! One or two have slipped through the net, mind you, but that is understandable; the disease of clerical ambition isn’t easily eradicated from the Body of Christ.
Jesus uses this display or worldly ambition to teach about the new way in his kingdom. If we want to be great, we have to choose to be small. If we want to be first, we must choose to be last. If we was esteem and recognition, we must serve and not be served. Jesus attacks the wisdom of this world which looks to dominate, manipulate and control. To be meek and to serve is a sign not of weakness but of true strength and character. To adopt the disposition of a slave is not to be trampled on but to rise above selfish drives which compel us to serve ourselves and not others.
The Lord wants us to come to him for salvation to arrive at the point where we discover our weakness and frailty and then turn to him for grace, strength and life. It is essential that we discover this moment in our lives at least once or, as is more likely, again and again. Do we depend on ourselves or on God? The heart of ‘being saved’ is acknowledging our need and depending on God. We cannot taste the goodness of the Lord id we rely only on ourselves.
When we are following Jesus everything else in our lives loses importance: ‘I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’. The young man clung to the security of his possessions because he could put his trust in Jesus’ love for him. Only by experiencing Jesus’ love shall we be able to believe his promises and act upon them without counting the cost. Therefore we need to pray persistently to grow in our knowledge of his love for us. This is the key to following Jesus. Then not lacking one thing, we shall have treasure in heaven.